A Beauty Queen In Just Her T-shirt and Her Jeans
by whatxthexbonkers
Summary: Ever since Rachel was young, people considered her to be 'one of the guys.' It's her senior year and she still hasn't had her first kiss, boyfriend, dance, or anything. What happens when Finn, Puck, and Mike try to help her get those? Finchel
1. Chapter 1

******Disclaimer**: I do not own anything :(.

**If you guys follow my stories, you'll probably notice a similarity hehe. I actually wrote this as a High School Musical fanfic, but I felt like it would be interesting to make it into a Glee fanfic. Let me know what you guys think! Any kind of feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks and I hope you enjoy it! :)**

* * *

Hiram and LeRoy Berry raised their little girl in an apartment complex in Lima, Ohio. Only a couple of years after moving in, LeRoy unfortunately passed away due to a car accident, leaving Hiram alone with their daughter. One day, when he was in desperate need of a baby-sitter he knocked on the door across the hall. A woman greeted him in a denim vest and a warm smile.

That's how he met Carole Hudson.

Carole and Hiram soon became close friends after they discovered that they were both single parents. So naturally, their children became close as well.

Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson have been inseparable since they met. They did everything together, especially since Rachel was very shy as a child. When they were five years old, Finn introduced her to his friends, Noah Puckerman and Mike Chang. He immediately felt a sense of protectiveness and responsibility towards her.

**_Flashback (Elementary School)_**

_Finn dragged Rachel by her small hand and led them towards the swing set. They stopped when they reached a little boy with a faux hawk and an Asian boy with hair that covered his eyebrows. _

_"This is Rachel," He said as the two boys stared at her. Finn pointed at the boys, "That's Puck, and that's Mike. We're all gonna play with each other."_

_"No way! She's a girl!" Puck pinched his nose and waved his hand in front of his face in disgust._

_Finn looked at Puck and Mike, "But she's a cool one! I promise."_

_Rachel waved at them and complimented Mike quietly, "I like your Superman bandaid."_

_Mike nodded at them, "Yeah, she's cool."_

**_End Flashback_**

Despite her small frame, Rachel was able to keep up with the guys and grew accustomed to the lifestyle she had with them. She didn't have a mother growing up and never really felt the need to branch off to hang out with other girls so she never got around to doing "girly" things. Her life was full of sports, video games, eating food, and things like that.

When most girls were asking for a new doll, Rachel was asking for a basketball. Others may have asked for a pair of heels, but Rachel, however, would have asked for a pair of cleats. She wasn't what you would consider a "normal" girl, but that never really seemed to bother her. As long as she had her boys: Finn, Puck, and Mike, she was fine. Sure, girls would make fun of her or tease her, and guys wouldn't really treat her the way they treated the "pretty" girls, but she always tried her best to not care.

**_Flashback (Middle School)_**

_Thirteen-year-old Rachel ran down the football field as fast as her legs would let her._

_"Go Berry! Go!" Puck cheered her on as she continued to run to the end zone. Once she made it to the end, the cheerleaders screeched in fear. _

_"Ew! It's RuPaul," The blonde wrinkled her nose and the brunette whispered, "I heard she's a lesbian."_

_Rachel glared at them with her brown eyes and threw the football on the grass. She ran to tackle the girls causing them to scream more. _

_Finn and Mike grabbed her arms before she could do anything as Puck went to grab the ball. _

_"Don't listen to them, Rachel." Mike said trying to calm her down._

_ She nodded, "You're right." She glanced at them quickly before speaking to the boys, "And although I have more intelligence to think of better insults, I'll refrain myself from doing so because I know that they are below me, and they're just jealous that they can't score a touchdown like I can."_

_She glared and added, "And even if I was a lesbian," she spat at the brunette, "You wouldn't even be my type."_

_Puck laughed loudly and patted her on the back before walking with Mike towards the rest of their team. Finn gave her a crooked smile and followed Mike and Puck. She returned the gesture, but her smile faltered a little once their backs were turned to her. The little confidence she mustered for that one statement slipped away when she thought of what the girls said. Deep down, it still bothered her knowing that they would never truly accept her._

**_End Flashback_**

Rachel was actually very beautiful, in an unconventional way. Sure her nose was slightly larger than what was considered normal and her eyebrows could be plucked, but she had a natural glow to her face and her skin was flawless and tanned. Despite her athleticism, she still had feminine features and curves on a body that some girls could only wish for. She was a petite brunette with chocolate-brown eyes and a contagious laugh and smile. No one seemed to truly notice this though except for Hiram and Carole, so she was still a virgin for many experiences.

She has never had a boyfriend, first kiss, slow dance, nothing. Of course her boys would invite her to the dances or parties, but she knew it wasn't her thing. Or at least that's what she told herself.

Now starting her senior year of high school, she was still that way. She is still considered one of the boys, but even her boys have experienced those things in one way or another.

* * *

"You suck balls, Berry!" Puck yelled as he tried to push Rachel's controller away from her while still paying attention the screen. Rachel rolled her eyes and held the right trigger of her controller and pressed the X button. "Looks like you're the one sucking balls, _Noah_."

Mike was stretched out on the couch lazily while Finn was on the opposite couch watching the screen and munching on some potato chips from the bag.

It was a typical weekend with the four of them were hanging out in the Hudson apartment. Hiram and Carole were chatting in the kitchen.

"Hiram, don't you ever wonder if Rachel ever wants to do other things besides video games and sports?" Carole asked as she watched the four teens in the living room.

Hiram sighed, "I know my little star was destined to do more than that, but she's convinced she's 'one of the boys.' I don't want to pressure her into doing anything she doesn't want to do."

"But there's something about her, you know?" He continued, his eyes watching his daughter through his glasses.

Carole nodded, "Maybe she just needs a little push." She turned to Hiram and looked at him from her seat at the kitchen table. "Their first dance of the year is coming up... The boys usually go so maybe we can suggest her going, too. Maybe we can have her finally get some girl time in."

* * *

"What?!" Rachel shrill voice echoed.

The guys' eyes were wide open with raised eyebrows. All were shocked about the idea of helping Rachel "get in touch with her feminine side." And even though Hiram and Carole explained that they wanted them to help her refrain from doing un-ladylike things for a while and maybe even get her first boyfriend, kiss, and dance they still didn't even know what that meant.

"Papa, are you not pleased with me? Do you not like me the way I am?" Rachel tried to make her father feel guilty by pouting slightly.

He rolled his eyes at her, "Please bug, don't be so dramatic. It'll be helpful for when you go off to college."

Carole bit her lip, "And we will give you tickets to go to Cedar Point."

The four teens looked at each other trying to communicate silently. Each seemed to be pretty eager about going to the amusement park, but they were also still hesitant.

"I can speak for all of us when I say we love roller coasters a lot, but," Rachel paused with a frown, "Why?"

Hiram sat down next to his daughter on the couch and placed his hand on her shoulder, "Rachel, we aren't trying to change you okay? We just figured now would be a good time for you to experience these things so that college won't be too much for you."

She sighed and the room was quiet for a moment before she turned and looked at the guys, "Do you guys want to help me?"

Mike spoke for the three guys with a nod, "Anything for you, Rachel."

The other two guys nodded in agreement, still a little excited for a possible trip Cedar Point in the near future. The two parents grinned at each other before Carole rushed to the kitchen to grab a piece of paper with her's and Hiram's handwriting all over it.

"Here," Carole said as she handed the paper to Puck. "We sort of made a checklist that will help Rachel get the experience we want for her."

Puck scanned it quickly before handing it to the other guys. Finn stood up and shrugged, "I guess we can get started then."

They all stood up with the same attitude and headed towards Berry family's apartment across the hall. None of them were sure of what to do or expect.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! You know... You can review if you want to ;).**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thank you all so much for the positive feedback! You have no idea how much it means to me! I forgot how much I loved replying to reviews and stuff! Thanks for everything and I apologize for such a filler type of chapter!

Oh and I couldn't reply to the non-member ones so **Lexi**! Thank you for your review and I hope this story plays out well for you! I don't want to let you down! :).

* * *

The four teens walked out of the Hudson apartment and walked towards Rachel's. Rachel was unusually quiet and this didn't go unnoticed by the guys.

"Rach, are you okay?" Finn asked with his eyebrows wrinkling in concern.

Rachel bit her lip as she put the key into the lock. They all waited for her to respond and continue opening the door. She tried to cover her face with her Cincinnati Red's baseball cap more, "I just don't think this will work."

She pushed the door open and they followed her in.

Mike asked as they all kicked off their shoes, "Why not?"

She shrugged, "It's kind of like trying to make Noah look like a decent girl."

"That was one time!"

Mike patted Puck's back as Finn laughed. Rachel rolled her eyes, "Besides, what's the point? They already think I'm some sort of freak or lesbian or whatever they call me now."

"Nothing wrong with getting some lesbian action on," Puck commented as they walked passed the living room that had several photos of Rachel at her different sporting events. She shoved him before leading them towards her room.

She sighed and opened the door, revealing the trophies she won with her various sports teams, awards that were labeled with titles like "most aggressive" or "best defensive player," posters of famous athletes, and pictures of her and the boys.

Rachel plopped on her bed as Mike shrugged at her, "You never know, this could be a good thing. Just be yourself." He gave her a reassuring smile, "No matter what, we'll always be your bros."

She smiled back with a small nod.

"So... this list says to make sure you wear different clothes," Finn said as he examined the list. He shrugged, "Why don't we check your clothes to see if you have stuff those other girls wear?"

Rachel just watched the boys from her seat on her bed as they looked through her closet. All three boys stared at the clothes with puzzled expressions.

"Why did they ask us to help? We're dudes." Puck moved the hangers back and forth, pushing her jerseys and hoodies to the other side. "Your dad's gay and Carole's a chick. They should help you."

"Do you have any other clothes besides these?" Mike asked. All that they saw in the closet were basically jerseys, sweatshirts, jackets, and shirts. On the shelves were her hats, beanies, shorts, and sweats.

"Check the dresser," Rachel offered as she pointed to it.

Mike opened the first drawer and quickly closed it. Finn's eyebrow lifted in curiosity as he walked towards the dresser and peeked as well. A light tint of pink reached his cheeks as he turned away. Rachel looked up at them with squinted eyes, "What's wrong?"

"Whoa, my little Jewish-American princess. I didn't know you wore bras." Puck picked one up and put it up against his own chest.

The heat immediately rushed to Rachel's face and she got up and grabbed the bra from his hands. She closed the drawer. "Okay," she said quickly. "That's enough. I don't need you guys looking at my um... Clothes anymore. I don't have anything to work with."

Finn sat down on her bed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Why don't we just try to improvise? Take your hat off and try to fix your hair."

Rachel took off her hat, exposing the frizzy hair that hung out of her low ponytail.

"Geez, you should really brush your hair." Puck laughed, "Did you get electrocuted or something?"

She whipped her head towards him and threw daggers with her eyes, "I wouldn't be talking if I were you, especially with that dead skunk on your head."

Finn and Mike sniggered, and Rachel stood up to grab a brush for her hair.

"Hey, chicks dig this," He replied cooly as he ran a hand over his mohawk. "Something to grab onto."

They all chose to ignore him. Mike leaned on her dresser and Finn watched as she tried to tame her brown unruly hair. "Wow, I haven't seen you with nothing on your head in a really long time."

After he commented he looked down at the list and back up at her, "Try losing the hoodie."

"I don't think that would help," Rachel started as she put her brush down. Mike put his hand on her shoulder, "It might. Come on, we're trying to help you."

"But-"

"Just do it," Puck said as he grabbed the football on the ground next to her dresser. He reminded her, "We're your bros, we're not gonna seriously make fun of you or do anything."

She look at Finn for approval. When he nodded with a small smile, she sighed and took it off, leaving her in a white ribbed tank top and sweats. "Now what?"

"That was a big change if you ask me," Puck said, not really looking at her as he continued to toss the football in the air.

"Why don't we go to the mall?" Mike suggested and she smiled at him with a nod.

* * *

"Where do girls shop?" Puck asked as he parked the car. They got out of the car and turned expectantly towards Rachel. She lamely offered a shrug as they walked towards the entrance of the mall.

Finn looked at the girls as they walked by them.

"Now isn't the time for us to check out girls," Mike joked as they continued to look around the mall.

Finn shook his head, "I was looking at their bags. Why don't we go where they went?"

When they walked into the store, they were quickly overwhelmed by all the clothes and women inside. Puck groaned, "Why are we here..."

Rachel bit her lip as she looked around, the boys following her every step. "I don't know what to buy. Can you guys pick out what you think is pretty?"

The three boys looked at each other with raised eyebrows as they mouthed 'pretty?'. The boys separated and looked for things. Within a couple of minutes they each found one item for her to try on.

Finn smiled as he handed her a flannel, "You can match me."

She grinned and accepted it. Mike handed her a bright blue v-neck and Puck turned towards her and handed her a pleather leggings, "Here."

Rachel looked at the clothes before walking towards the fitting room. The three boys trailed behind her and settled on the couch nearby.

"How many?" The worker asked without looking at her. Rachel was surprised by his flutey voice.

"Three."

Her eyes roamed over his sleek and slender figure before he turned around to face her.

"Oh my." He nearly dropped the card with the number 3 on the ground in shock. He blinked at her appearance and clothes before ushering her to a room. He asked carefully, "So what are you shopping for today?"

Rachel bowed her head in embarrassment. Her voice was quiet, "Just looking."

The boy eyed her suspiciously and Rachel sighed when she looked up at him. She tried to find the right words as she tilted her head towards Puck, Finn, and Mike, "My friends are trying to help me find my feminine side."

His eyebrow quirked, "Like a makeover?"

"I guess so." Rachel nodded slightly with her voice quiet.

He stopped walking and his thin lips curved into a sly smile, "I love makeovers. Please let me help you."

"It's fine." She shifted uncomfortably, "My friends are helping me, but thank you."

He rolled his eyes. "Do you really think that those guys can help you?"

"You're a guy-" Rachel started and he scoffed.

"Please." He paused, "What's your name?"

"Rachel," She said cautiously and he nodded with a smile. He took the clothes from her and walked back towards the counter he first met her at.

He hung them on the rack and Rachel followed him with a confused look. "But my clothes-"

"Rachel, sweetie." He laughed lightly, "I assure you I can help you find better clothes than those three can. I live for makeovers."

She chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't even know who you are."

He extended his arm and quickly introduced himself, "Kurt Hummel, pleased to meet you. Now please. I get off in like five minutes."

She sighed and caught Finn's attention, "Look, Kurt. I'm really flattered that you want to help me but-"

"Rach, is something wrong?" Finn asked as his eyes bounced from the pale boy to his friend. "We can just go to another store if he's giving you trouble."

Puck and Mike walked towards them, already tired of waiting on the couch.

"No trouble," Kurt smiled at Finn. "Just telling Rachel here that I can help with her makeover."

Puck handed Kurt the checklist Carole and Hiram made, "Thank the Lord. We'll see you later, Rach."

"Puck!" Finn glared at him before turning to Rachel, "Do you want him to help you?"

Rachel finally decided to give in, "I suppose I do. He seems to really want to help me."

The three boys looked at each other before Mike turned to Kurt, "How long will this take?"

"Not too long," He answered. "If she cooperates."

Puck pumped his fist into the air, "Sweet. Let's go check out some games and hit the food court or something."

Rachel sighed at that. She wished she could join them instead of doing this. Finn looked down at her and smiled sympathetically, "Call us if you need us."

She nodded with a sad smile. He flashed another smile at her before heading out of the store with Puck and Mike. Rachel sighed once more as she watched her friends leave.

Kurt finally unfolded the list and let his eyes scan the words on the paper. He nodded with approval, "We can certainly do this and more."

"And more?" Rachel asked with wide eyes.

* * *

**A/N: **Yay! Time for a makeover! Let's see how that goes hehe :). Hope you enjoyed it!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Thank you so much everyone! This chapter should be a bit longer than the other two, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's better. Enjoy nonetheless though! And special thanks to **loveisjustasmileaway** aka **Lola**! :)

* * *

"Kurt! This makes me look like a hooker!"

"A sophisticated, sexy hooker!" He corrected with a point of his finger.

It's been about a little over thirty-five minutes and Kurt has already done so much damage to the mall. It seemed like he knew exactly what she needed the moment they started. Surprisingly to them both, they clicked. Once Rachel got over the fact that she was getting a makeover from a stranger and Kurt realized she wasn't just some project to do but an actual person who needed help, it was easy to have a good time.

Kurt Hummel just graduated from high school, but he didn't get into the school he wanted so he was taking a break until he figured things out. She explained her situation to Kurt and though he didn't fully understand it, he didn't question it. While picking clothes and trying them on, Rachel and Kurt exchanged questions and small chat to get to know each other better.

While her lack of fashion sense is beyond Kurt, he truly did enjoy the feistiness of the brunette and fed off of her stubborn attitude. And although he would never understand sports the way she did, Rachel was intrigued by all of the new things he was introducing to her to and appreciated the company of a new friend. They enjoyed their playful jokes and banter.

"I'm kidding," He said with a roll of his eyes and handed her another skirt.

She whined, "Another skirt? We already bought three. Why can't I keep wearing my sweats?"

"There was a sale," Kurt explained, "And no. Now stop asking about those atrocious sweatpants and try this on."

She smiled at him despite herself and closed the dressing room door. She put it on like he said and stared at herself in the mirror. Her frizzed hair, ribbed tank, and this polka dot skirt. She thought she looked absolutely silly in all these dresses and skirts he made her buy and try on, but he kept complimenting her and gushing over every outfit so she couldn't help but get excited as well.

Kurt talked to her through the door, "You are such a diva. You may not look like one yet, but you've definitely developed the attitude long before you met me."

Rachel snorted and walked out with skirt and Kurt simply nodded with the same smile he's been giving her. She went back into the dressing room with a little laugh and came back out shortly after with her sweatpants back on. She answered her ringing phone as she and Kurt walked out to pay for the new clothes.

"Hello?" She smiled into the phone, "Yeah, I'm actually having a good- I'm not sure-" Rachel rolled her eyes and turned to Kurt, "How long will we be? My friends are asking."

He looked at the list in his hand and back at her, "I can give you a ride home."

Rachel looked hesitant, but before she could open her mouth Kurt nodded, "It's fine. We can get to know each other better."

She agreed and finished talking on the phone before walking up to the counter. After she paid, they walked out of the store. Carrying her bag of clothes and her bag of makeup in the same hand.

"Do you normally take strangers out for makeovers?"

"Never actually. There's just something about you Rachel. Maybe it's some weird diva connection," He smiles and replies to a text from his boyfriend whom Rachel discovered earlier goes to McKinley High as well. Blaine something. Maybe she'll meet him or see him at school one day.

She followed his lead towards the other end of the mall. She peeked in her bag of clothing as Kurt asked her his own question, "So, which one is your boyfriend?"

Rachel laughed loudly, "None."

"Is it the lumberjack?" He asked, ignoring her laugh and answer.

"I told you, none of them are. I don't have a boyfriend," She replied.

"It's the one with the mohawk isn't it."

"Kurt."

"Fine, fine." He said before he asked another question, "If you had to pick though... Out of the three. Who would it be?"

Rachel laughed louder than she did earlier, "None!"

"Oh come on," He turned the corner and walked out of the mall. "Just for fun, pick one... You'd pick Mike, huh?"

She followed him to the parking lot, a little thrown off by his use of his first name. This is the first time he's referred to one of them by their real names, "Actually, he's been seeing someone."

"So it _is_ Mike?" Kurt asked as they walked passed a few cars.

"No," Rachel said and paused, finally giving the question some thought. "Noah is a great receiver, but Finn can throw a really good spir-"

"Stop speaking in your weird boy language," Kurt cut her off. "Who do you think is cuter?"

"I've never even-" He gave her a look and she sighed.

"Well, Noah has nice muscle definition," She said carefully with a hint of blush creeping on her cheeks. Her voice was quieter than before. "But Finn-" She stuttered, still shy about the new subject, "Finn is quite handsome, too."

Kurt smirked as though he already knew. He looked as though he knew that something was just waiting to happen. Before she could question him, they reached his car. He popped the trunk open for her to put her bags in before sitting inside.

"Hi, are they any openings?" Kurt asked into his iPhone before putting the key in the ignition. He paused, "Cassandra's fine, thanks. We'll be there soon."

"Who's Cassandra?" Rachel asked as he backed out of his parking spot. He turned the radio on and let it serve as background music for their ride.

"She's a stylist," Kurt says as he signals into the next lane. "She used to do celebrities' hair and makeup before."

Rachel nodded and stared out the window, already nervous. "So am I getting a haircut?"

Kurt turned right at the light and nodded, "Probably. We'll see what Cassie suggests."

"So does she still do makeup and stuff for celebrities?" Rachel asked Kurt turned into a parking lot. He parked and bit his lip a little.

"Not anymore."

They unbuckled their seat belts and exited the car. Rachel looked up at the salon before turning to Kurt, "Why not?"

He bit his lip again and laughed lightly. "Well, she kind of went crazy..." Kurt added quickly, "But she's okay now. Sort of."

Before Rachel could ask what he meant by 'crazy,' they walked through the glass doors and straight to the empty salon seat. He ushered her to sit down on the black chair as they waited for Cassandra.

A woman with blonde tousled hair and dark lipstick walked up to them. She was dressed in a black dress with black tights and heels.

"Kurt," She said as her greeting and he quickly went to hug her. "Cassie this is my new friend Rachel."

She turned to the girl in her seat and examined every inch of her. Under Cassandra's scrutinizing eyes, Rachel really wished she had her hat on right now. She averted her eyes towards the business cards in front of the mirror and next to the hair dryer. _Cassandra July_.

Cassandra July did not sugar coat anything. She was honest and pushed people to look their best and right now, she was going to do that for Rachel.

"Rachel, is it?" She asked, not waiting for an answer, "Those bushes you call eyebrows have to go. Although, it's distracting me from that nose so I'm going to have to give you some bangs. Maybe we'll go for a subtle ombré look, but we'll see if you can pull it off. We're going to need to do a lot of work to fix this mess." She stopped saying her thoughts out loud and called over a man who just finished washing a woman's hair.

"Brody," She called. "Get her eyebrows done, wash her hair, and then bring her back to me."

Brody nods. His muscles flexing under his tight black shirt and black pants. "Right this way."

Rachel panicked a little as she turned to Kurt. He smiled and told Cassie he'd be back and followed the two of them.

She laid down, waiting to get her eyebrows waxed. Kurt put her hand on her shoulder, "You'll be fine Rachel. It doesn't even hurt."

Rachel nodded and closed her eyes. She bit her lip and waited for him to rip her hair off of her face.

She opened her eyes once Brody finished and laughed when Kurt muttered that she was such a baby. They walked to the seat and let Cassandra do her job. By the time she was done, Rachel's hair was the softest it's ever been and her brown hair shined under the light. Just as Cassandra said earlier, she had bangs now that hovered above her tamed eyebrows, but they decided to keep it her natural color. She had some layers to frame her face and instead of hanging over her only to be hidden under a cap.

"Maybe ombré next time," Cassandra said as she finished styling her hair.

Rachel looked at her new hair and then at Kurt. She could have sworn he looked like he was crying but she smiled at him anyway.

He wiped under his eye, "Well done, Cassie."

"Thank you so much," Rachel said as she got up from her seat, ready to shake her hand.

Cassandra ignored it and simply nodded, she already knew how great she was. "I expect a generous tip," She said before walking away from her station.

Rachel paid and just like Cassandra said, she gave her a generous tip. She turned to Kurt, "You're lucky I don't usually shop or I wouldn't be able to afford any of this."

He shrugged and linked arms with her to his car, "I hope you had a fabulous time Rachel because I did."

She admitted, "I did, too. I hope I can call you when I need help with fashion or..."

He smiled as they let go, "You can call me for anything."

They buckled up in the car and continued talking about each other and their lives. Rachel would interrupt them briefly by giving him directions to her apartment, but they would still carry on with their conversation.

"You don't think my bangs will get in the way from my playing do you?" She asked as she pulled down the mirror, "I need to be able to see the ball when Finn throws it. _Oh_ and can you imagine dribbling down the court with your vision blocked by your hair? I can't mess up my game."

He snorted, "No, I cannot imagine that. Your 'game' will be fine. I still can't believe they let you play with the boys. Do you go to the locker room with them, too?"

Rachel wrinkled her nose in disgust, "Of course not! It started as a temporary thing because they needed players, but I'm actually very good so they have to keep me. They've even considered me for several of their sport teams."

Kurt laughed and slowed the car down at the light.

"You probably could've been a placekicker, if you wanted to. You're pretty small," He made a face at her, kind of pointing out that she's smaller but Rachel pointedly ignored him and continued, "But it's quite common to have the kicker be the smallest of the team."

She then asked Kurt if this new look of hers was too much, but Kurt quickly shook his head. After reassuring Rachel many times that people would not make fun of her for her new look, they finally changed the topic as they did so many times today.

"I'm not wearing a skirt tomorrow at school, just so you know." She informed him, "Maybe another day."

Kurt tried to convince her that change was good but she didn't budge. They changed the topic yet again, and for some reason they were talking about middle names.

"Your middle name is Barbra? As in Barbra Streisand?" Kurt gasped. "And you don't even know who she is?"

Rachel sheepishly shrugged.

He sighed, "We will continue this conversation another time. I have a lot to teach you."

Rachel leaned over the armrest and hugged Kurt. She whispered before exiting the car, "Thank you so much."

Kurt handed her the list and smiled, "Anytime, diva." He waved at her before driving off and Rachel grinned at her new clothes and makeup. She's actually really excited to show her dad her new look and new items.

* * *

"Oh, bug! I can't say it enough! You look so beautiful!" Hiram exclaimed, "Why didn't I think of cutting your hair like this when you were younger?"

She laughed at her father as they finished their dinner together.

"So how do you like the idea of getting in touch with your feminine side?"

She shrugged, "It's alright."

Rachel didn't want to admit that it was actually a bit more exciting than she thought it would be because her nervousness was taking over. Sure she was used to the teasing, but can you imagine how people might react to her new look?

"You never know," Hiram grinned mischievously. "You might catch the eye of a boy you might like."

"Papa," She warned and rolled her eyes at him. She sipped her water. She could tell he's been waiting for this moment to come and she wonders why it's taken this long to notice. Hiram asked as he finished the last bite on his plate, "Is there any boy I should look out for?"

She shook her head, "No. There isn't any boy at all... May I be excused? Finn texted me about the new game he bought earlier."

Just as Rachel stood up, Hiram cleared his throat. "You know you can always talk to me right?"

She looked down at him with her plate in her hand, "I know."

He stood up and kissed her on the cheek. Rachel and Hiram washed the dishes together. She texted Finn that she'd just play with him tomorrow before heading to her room to look at her new things once again.

* * *

"Daddy!" Rachel called from the bathroom, "This shirt is too tight! I can't breathe in it! And these jeans! I might rip them!"

Hiram rushed to the bathroom only to roll his eyes, "Oh bug, you are so dramatic. If you weren't playing your sports I'm sure you'd auditioning for something in the drama department right now."

His eyes wandered to the new makeup scattered on the bathroom counter. He gave Rachel a smile as she struggled to get ready for school. This was the first time he's ever really seen her in the bathroom getting ready and it was quite amusing to him.

"You look lovely," He said. "Why don't you go next door to Carole? Maybe she can help you with your makeup?"

Rachel nodded and some of the panic washed away from her face. She grabbed her makeup and backpack before kissing her dad goodbye. He chuckled as he watched her walk to the Hudson's.

After three knocks on the door, Carole answered and smiled at her, immediately complimenting her on her new look. She gushed over Rachel's hair, dark skinny jeans, and a sweetheart cut top with thick straps. She ushered her to come in and they walked to her room, explaining that Finn was in the bathroom.

She helped her apply some mascara and lip gloss, "You look gorgeous, Rachel."

Rachel blushed and thanked her quietly and let her finish her light makeup before walking out into the living room to wait for Finn to take her to school. She hoped she didn't look too funny because Carole said she only applied a light coat of everything so that she would still look natural.

When the bathroom door opened, Carole called out before leaving the apartment, "Rachel's here, honey! I'll see you guys after work! Have a great day at school!"

"Hey Rach-"

He stopped when she stood up and turned to him. His mouth gaped open and his words failed him. His eyes caressed her long soft hair that was usually covered by a hat and roamed over to her blush covered cheeks. He eyes trailed down her neck to the sweetheart cut of her top which he and the boys recently realized was covered by a bra. Heat rose to his cheeks as he followed her curves that were always hidden by baggy clothes. His eyes wandered down her denim covered legs and-

"Finn?" She panicked, "Is this too much? Do I look weird? Should I go change?"

The anxiety rushed through her body as she waited for an answer. She still had time to grab some basketball shorts, a hat, or a hoodie to cover up, maybe a loose t-shirt.

He shook his head quickly as though he were trying to shake off some of his freckles, "N-No. You just look different."

Her brown eyes widened at his comment before he added, "B-But a good different."

She bit her pink lip as he motioned for her to leave the apartment and head to his truck. They walked in silence, both a bit conflicted. Finn tried to shake off what he thought was the feeling of shock, and Rachel tried to get a hold of herself. Shooting the winning basket with the entire school watching you was easy, but walking into school in a new outfit was hell for her. If Finn reacted this way, how was everyone else going to react?

* * *

**A/N**: Hope this chapter was cool! :). Let me know what you guys think!

Also! My birthday's coming up hehe sooooo I'm probs not going to update as quickly as I would. That's not a great excuse but... yeah hehe. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and have a lovely weekend everyone! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: Special thanks to **Princess808**! Enjoy everyone! Sorry for the wait :). Pardon for mistakes as well!

* * *

_Who's the new girl?_

_Is that Finn's girlfriend?_

_Is she new?_

_Wait. Is that man hands?_

_What's she doing?_

Rachel hurriedly grabbed her things from her locker as she tried to ignore the whispers coming from her classmates. She really wished that Finn hadn't gone to his own locker after parking this morning. She shut her locker closed and rushed down the hallway to Finn's locker. She walked as fast as her new flats would let her, without looking awkward, and tried her best to avoid the stares and ignore the whispers.

Once she reached Finn, she sighed and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Why won't they stop staring?"

Finn chuckled as he messed around in his locker, trying to find the perfect spot for his letterman jacket. He turned to face her so that he could reply but stopped and-

"Finn! That's not funny!" She punched his arm and he stopped staring with a slight shake of his head. He cleared his throat and furrowed his eyebrows as he turned back to his locker.

"Chill, Rachel," He said, keeping his attention in his locker.

She sighed once more, making sure to keep her back to the hallway, especially those who were talking about her.

She didn't really understand why they were so interested in her though. I mean, she didn't look _that_ different. At least not enough for people to mistake her as a new student. Maybe enough for people to question her change but nothing more. Sure her jeans were tighter and she was wearing a sweet tart-heart or whatever the cut of her tank top was, but she was still the same girl.

I mean seriously, even Finn was acting kind of weird. Rachel kept her eyes on him as he moved things around and tried to put her jacket inside.

"Damn girl," he let out a low whistle and continued speaking to Rachel's back, "You could be-"

She turned around with an annoyed expression on her face.

"_Rachel_?" Puck laughed wildly as he turned to Mike and back at Rachel, "Wow. You clean up _real_ good."

Rachel looked down at the ground as an attempt to hide the small smile that was creeping on her face, "Stop it."

Puck grinned, "Seriously Rach, if I knew you-"

"We get it!" Finn said as he yanked his letterman jacket out of his locker. "She looks good," he finished with a slam of his locker.

Mike jumped a little at his outburst but Puck just continued checking Rachel out. Mike cleared his throat, "Well uh, Rachel you do look good."

He smiled at her and tugged playfully at the ends of her hair, "The new hair suits you."

Rachel smiled and quietly thanked him and walked with him to his locker. Finn grabbed his jacket and followed them with Puck on his side. He really wanted to shove Puck into the locker for staring at Rachel like that, but he couldn't understand why. Maybe it was some protective older brother thing that he just picked up.

"Is it gonna mess you up when you play though?" Mike asked as they reached his locker.

Finn nodded, "Yeah, will it like, get in your eyes or something? I know coach says we don't need your help right now, but I'd still want you to be an option if Evans gets injured or something."

Rachel shrugged, "I don't think it should get in the way. Especially not for volleyball," She finished. "I see other girls use headbands all the time."

Finn nodded. He forgot that she had been playing volleyball instead of helping out with football this season, which meant that he would have to wait a few minutes for her after football practice today.

"So anyway," Mike said as he opened his locker. He changed the topic, "I think you and Tina could really hit it off."

Rachel smiled uneasily as she rubbed her bare arms, "I don't know. I-"

Before she could protest Tina Cohen-Chang walked up next to them. Mike greeted her with a chaste kiss on the lips before she said hi to everyone else.

Finn gave her a small smile while Puck gave her a nod. They turned their attention more towards Mike, leaving Rachel to chat with her before the bell rang.

"Mike told me about your makeover." The Asian girl in the lime green dress said with a smile, "You look really cute, Rachel."

Rachel thanked her, mentally letting out a sigh of relief. She was so glad that Tina wasn't one of those girls who made fun of her. This was the first time that she really had the chance to talk to her besides the hello's they've shared after games or before practices. Mike's told them that she's in the choir or wait, it's called the glee club right? Rachel's surprised that Tina doesn't get made fun of like she does. At least Rachel plays sports, Tina's in the glee club for crying out loud. Rachel chose to just ignore it however and continued talking to her.

Surprisingly to Rachel, they did get along. While she and Tina do not click as quickly or as well as she and Kurt did, she could already tell Tina was going to be a good friend. She didn't judge her new situation and if she was confused, she asked polite questions. With all the chatting with Tina, Rachel found it easier to ignore the odd looks and loud whispers. It was much more helpful than chatting with the boys.

"You should totally join glee club. They're really welcoming," Tina smiled and Rachel shrugged.

"I don't even know how to sing," Rachel said lamely. "I think I'll just stick to my sports…"

Tina nodded, "Well, if you change your mind, we're always open to new members. Maybe you can check it out before volleyball one day."

Rachel bit her lip, but before she could reply the bell rang so she just nodded. "Maybe, see you Tina."

* * *

It was now lunch time, and Rachel was growing tired of all the gossip that filled her ears. She tried her best to pay attention in class, but the eyes of the students bore holes into her. She hated it and rushed to the bathroom as soon as class was over.

She examined herself in the mirror and played with her freshly cut bangs until they looked like they did when Cassandra styled them. She adjusted her straps and smoothed her skinny jeans before walking out of the ladies' room and to her locker. _Just stay calm_ she repeated to herself as she unlocked her locker.

"Hey, the name's-"

She rolled her eyes, when will people stop introducing themselves? She turned around, "Dave, if I know you can barely throw a decent pass, I'm pretty sure I know who you are."

"Berry?" His voice was full of surprise. He laughed, "There were rumors about a new girl so I thought I'd check her out…" They bumped fists, "My bad, I thought you were a chick."

She raised her eyebrows and he put his hands up, "Sorry, you know what I mean."

She gave him a small nod as an attempt to ease the sting that came from the unintentional insult. She rubbed her bare arms as she watched the burly teen walk away, really wishing that she could just have her old clothes on to cover her up.

She closed her locker as Finn walked up to her, "Was Karofsky giving you trouble?"

Rachel smiled at him as she shook her head, "No, are you ready for lunch?"

Finn replied with a small nod as he gripped his letterman jacket, still in his hands from this morning. "Are you sure?"

She sighed as they walked down the hallway together, "I just don't understand why people feel the need to stare at me or whisper. I shouldn't have agreed to this."

Finn frowned and put his arm around, "Don't worry about it, Rach. It's just the first day. Students at McKinley always give people trouble for being different."

Rachel nodded, he had a point but it still didn't help settle any uneasiness she was feeling.

He stopped walking which caused her to look up at him. Her eyes widened with confusion as he unfolded his letterman jacket in his hands and turned towards her.

"Why don't you wear my jacket?" He asked with a slight shrug, "You know, until you're comfortable enough to wear your own clothes."

She asked him as he helped her shrug the large jacket over her small frame, "Are you sure? I have my own jacket at home, I can just wait."

Finn just nodded, "Yeah, it'll stop you from rubbing your arms off… and that way I won't have to hold it anymore."

She grinned, "And here I thought you were just being chivalrous. Thanks, Finn. Let's eat unch now."

They met up with Puck and Mike who were already eating. Tina joined them today and sat next to Mike.

"Why the hell are you wearing Finn's jacket?" Puck asked in between bites of his burger.

Rachel opened her mouth to reply, but Puck continued. "You'd look much hotter in mine… or out of it."

Rachel scoffed, "While I appreciate your comments about my new look, please don't think that this is the signal for you to treat me like the rest of the girls here. I'm still Rachel Berry, and I am more than capable of beating you at anything."

Puck grinned as he took a chip from her bag, "Exactly."

Despite herself, she smiled with a roll of her eyes. Mike just laughed at the two, but before he could put his two cents in Finn spoke up.

"Seriously, Puck, stop personifying her."

"Objectifying," Rachel corrected immediately before Mike could laugh louder. Tina gave him a look to make him stop laughing and smiled apologetically at Finn.

Puck laughed before he took a large bite of his burger, "Really though, you look hot Rachel. I can't believe you've been holding out on us."

Rachel's cheeks tinted a light pink as she shook her head, "I'm sure this is just your initial shock of my new look speaking."

Finn felt himself shake his head, he agreed. He wanted to tell her that she was more than 'hot,' but he didn't want to make things weird by commenting. Talking about girls like that was Puck's thing, not his.

They finished eating their lunch with a few jokes and comments here and there. Finn remained silent the whole time, letting Puck flatter Rachel and letting her blush at his compliments as Mike and Tina exchanging their googley eyes and laughed at the other pair's reactions from each other.

As lunch ended, Puck, Rachel, and Mike left the table to throw their things away. Tina got up but then turned back to Finn.

"Hey, you were pretty quiet… Is everything okay?

He look up at her, "Y-Yeah, just a little confused that's all."

"Why?" She asked gently as she waited for him to get up from his seat.

He doesn't know why he's feeling this way. I mean she's obviously wearing his jacket, but it seems like she'd rather be wearing Puck's, rather be talking to Puck, rather _be_ with Puck. Normally, he'd be able to tell Rachel what he was feeling but this time it just felt right to keep it to himself. He looked Tina and just shrugged.

"Are you… Jealous?" Tina asked as they walked out of the cafeteria.

Finn shook his head vigorously, "What? No! Why- I- Should I be?"

Tina laughed, "I just noticed how you were acting earlier. It's normal you know, to be a little protective of Rachel having this new kind of attention. It's probably a new thing to have to share your friend that way and have to witness boys speaking to her differently."

"It is?" Finn asked with wide eyes and Tina nodded.

"Maybe it's your big brother instincts coming into play," She smiled as exited the doors together.

"Yeah," Finn smiled. "You're right, thanks Tina. She's my number one team-mate, and it is kinda weird having guys hit on her."

Tina nodded, glad that she could help her boyfriend's friend.

"Don't tell them about this please," He said quickly as they walked towards the rest of their group.

"Sure," She smiled as they finally met up with them. Mike put his arm around her, "What were you guys doing?"

She smiled, "Just cleaning up."

Finn nodded and let her previous words echo in his mind. She was completely right. Finn was just finally given the opportunity to act as the protective brother he felt like, and though it came naturally it still felt weird.

They were all still the same people, he reminded himself, no matter how much he wanted to kick a chair when he heard Puck talk to her and about her the way he did. They were gonna stay the best of friends, the four of them. Just because Rachel's skin looks softer, her hair looks shinier, and her lips look plumper, it doesn't mean anything is going to change. And come on, he's a dude. He's supposed to appreciate hot girls, even if she's supposed to be one of the guys.

* * *

**A/N**: Don't forget to review and let me know what you guys think! :) Thanks for all the feedback so far!


	5. Rest in Peace, Cory Monteith

I am so sorry guys. I was thinking about writing this yesterday, but I suppose today will have to do. :(

Unfortunately, as of now, I will not be able to update this story. After the news of Cory's death, I can't possibly think about it. I know it may sound silly to some people, but honestly I am devastated. I cannot find words as beautiful as Cory to describe him or the character he portrayed and it's just too difficult.

I hope you guys understand. I apologize to those who were really looking forward to reading this story. Thank you so much and maybe one day I'll be able to continue it because I'd really like to.


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N**: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I appreciate it so much! And I decided that I can't stay away from writing because this is one of the ways Cory's legacy and memory lives :). And it's really comforting to know that there are people who truly care as much as I do. Thank you for the love and the reviews and everything! I hope this chapter doesn't let you down.

And like Lea said, we can all get through it together :).

P.S. Happy birthday to Lea Michele and Michael Jackson!

* * *

Rachel's newly cut bangs bounced in sync with her ponytail as she towards the net. Her baggy basketball shorts swayed as she dove for the ball, successfully bumping it over the net and onto the ground. It landed just on the inside of the line and the girls on her side of the net cheered. As much as she loved the thrill of taking chances (which were usually running different plays or going for the ball or something), Rachel had to admit it felt so good to be in the comfort of her large clothes and haven of a gym.

Coach Shelby Corcoran blew her whistle to let the girls know that volleyball practice was over. With sweat glistening on her face, she walked over to Shelby with the rest of her teammates for their post practice huddle.

"Alright ladies!" Shelby yelled as she clapped everyone over to the center of the court, "Good practice today. I'll see you guys out on the field tomorrow for our laps. And Sue's finally letting us use the weight room after so if you're late, you know the consequences."

They all nodded, still a little tired from their scrimmage, and walked towards the women's locker room.

"Oh and Rachel," Shelby called and waited for Rachel to turn back around before continuing. "I want you to wear the appropriate clothes from now on."

Rachel glanced at her over-sized t-shirt and loose basketball shorts before looking back at her volleyball coach.

"But you always let me wear these to practice," Rachel said with creased eyebrows. She never wears the spandex unless it's for games and Shelby knows that. Rachel _just_ started wearing skinny jeans today, she should give her a break from all the tight clothes. She can't have her life being sucked out by her clothes all the time.

Shelby didn't see the problem and just nodded, "I know, but I want you to start getting used to the clothes earlier in the season. It'll help set a good example for the new girls. After all, you _are_ the team's captain."

Rachel's eyes widened, "I-I'm captain?" She matched her coach's growing smile, "I promise I'll start wearing it tomorrow! Thanks, coach!"

Shelby had decided that she wanted the girls to vote on who their captain would be this year so Rachel was more than honored and surprised to have been chosen. She quickly went to the locker room and freshened up with a quick shower and changed back into her clothes. She put Finn's letterman jacket on to cover up and headed out towards the football field.

She sat down at her spot on the bleachers, the seat she usually went to when her practices ended before his did, and watched as Finn faked the pass to Mike and threw the football into the air. It spiraled perfectly into Puck's hands and he ran towards the end zone. A smile played on her lips as she watched her boys in action. She thought about the first official game she got to play with them and the smile on her face grew wider. Playing with the girls on her teams was fun, but having the boys by her side was always better.

Coach Bieste blew the whistle and they all hustled to circle around her. As Finn, Puck, and Mike headed towards their team, they faced Rachel and greeted her as they normally did after practice. Puck gave her a nod, Mike gave her a little wave, and Finn gave her his signature lopsided grin. She flashed her pearly whites at them with a small wave before they turned their attention to their coach.

While the team finished talking, she noticed that Karofsky kept looking at her. Before she could question his gazes, her boys were already walking towards her.

"I see you're still wearing that lame jacket," Puck joked as they walked towards the bleachers. She rolled her eyes as she stood up and followed them to the locker room.

Mike took his helmet off and asked her about her practice. She quickly told them that she was captain and they clapped her on the back as their way of saying they were proud.

Finn smiled, "Two captains in our group huh?"

She smiled back at him as her thank and Mike and Puck said their goodbyes since they weren't riding with them home.

Rachel watched the three of them walk into the locker room. Fortunately for her, Finn didn't take too long in the shower (at least not at school) so she didn't have to wait that long. She adjusted the backpack and swung it over one of her shoulders before resting on the rail near the locker room.

After a few minutes, she felt a tap on her shoulder and laughed. "That was quicker than usual."

She turned around and opened her mouth but a gasp came out instead, "Oh, sorry Karofsky. I thought you were Finn."

Dave pressed his lips together with a squint of his eyes before shaking his head 'no.' He was still in his practice jersey and some of the beads of sweat were still on his forehead. "You're not dating him are you?"

"What?" Rachel almost laughed, "No."

He just nodded and a brief, awkward silence surrounded them. He shifted on his feet before speaking again, "Do you need a ride home?"

She looked up at him, surprise evident in her eyes and voice, "What?"

Dave shrugged, "I can take you home if you don't wanna wait for Hudson anymore."

Rachel hid her hands inside the long sleeves of Finn's letterman jacket as she struggled to reply. It was weird having Dave talk to her like this. She already cleared things up with him earlier when he assumed she was a new student, so why was there still interest?

She bit her lip, "Thanks, but you know that I always go home with Finn."

Dave simply nodded and looked around, "Well, I could wait with you… If you'd like."

He kept surprising her with every sentence he said. She could definitely get used to the new soft tone of his voice.

She smiled and joked, "You're a lot nicer than I remember, Karofsky."

He shrugged his broad shoulders, "Maybe we just need to hang out more."

"Maybe," She repeated softly then went back to her normal attitude. "Are you just talking to me because you need tips on how to pass?"

He laughed mockingly at her joke and teased back, "If I did, I wouldn't be asking you."

Rachel rolled her eyes with a grin. She's never spoken to Dave like this before. It was nice and she realized that he wasn't that bad. Sure during practice he was a bit of a douche and in the hallways he was a bit of a bully, but right now he was showing a side that she's never seen before.

"Really?" She asked, still grinning. "You know as well as I do that I threw a better pass than you at the last practice I was at."

Dave offered her what seemed to be a smile, "Fine, Berry. I'll give you that, but that's the only time you were decent."

She tucked some hair behind her ear and looked up at him through her mascara covered lashes, "You don't need to wait with me you know. I'm used to waiting for Finn by myself."

Dave shook his head and placed his helmet in his other hand, "It's fine."

Rachel simply nodded so he continued, "I was wondering-"

"Hey Rach," Finn said at the same time. "Sorry if I took too long…"

His voice trailed off when he noticed Dave standing next to her. His wet hair dripped a little as he stared at the two.

Rachel glanced at him with her eyes chocolate eyes, "You were fine, Dave was keeping me company…" She turned back to Dave, "What were you going to say before Finn rudely interrupted?"

Dave shook his head and waved it off, "Uh, nothing. I'll see you tomorrow, Berry."

She smiled and waved a little, "See you tomorrow."

Rachel and Finn walked to the end of the hallway and out to the parking without a word. He opened the door of his truck for her before walking to the driver's seat. Once they had their seat belts buckled, Finn put the key in the ignition and drove to their apartments.

"Is something wrong?" Rachel asked suddenly, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"No," Finn mumbled as he switched lanes.

They continued to sit there in silence as he drove them home. His eyebrows were wrinkled and his grip on the steering wheel was tight.

"Was it something that happened at practice?" She asked, playing with her now soft hair. "You had a really good pass at the end. I should know, I throw really good passes, too."

Her smile faded when she noticed that he wasn't really listening. "Finn?"

He glanced at her and turned back to the road, "What?"

"Did something happen in the locker room?"

He just grumbled about how he didn't wanna talk about anything and kept his eyes on the road. They pulled up to the stop sign. One more turn and they'd be entering the parking garage for their complex. She didn't want to have to resort to saying their 'promise' so soon, but she knew she would never be able to help him once they got inside. She sighed and reminded him, "I hold the lock and you hold the key."

**Flashback**

_Finn walked back from his kitchen in his baseball uniform. He had a tub of cookie dough ice cream in one hand and a spoon in the other. He sat down on the couch next to Rachel and pulled the lid off._

_"I would've grabbed you a spoon, but you're not talking so I guess this is all mine."_

_Rachel was slumped in the corner, still in her softball uniform and a scowl on her face._

_"I'm older now, Finn. That dessert thing isn't going to work." She crossed her arms as she stared at the ice cream. _

_This deal of theirs started when they were younger. They didn't want to tell their parents why they were fighting so their parents offered to take them out to the candy store down the street but only if they told them what was going on. They couldn't get anything until they sorted things out. _

_They kept this up for most of the time. If one had a problem or needed help, no matter how small or ridiculous it may have seemed, they had to talk it out. If they didn't, their dessert wouldn't have to be shared. It still seemed to (eventually) work on Finn and Rachel, but they could be very stubborn when they wanted to be and it only seemed to get worse with age._

_"We're not even that old, Rach. We're just freshmen." He shrugged and spoke with a full mouth of ice cream, "Besides, it's delicious."_

_She sighed, "You already know what's wrong. Just give me some-"_

_"Nope," He said and scooped some more into his mouth. He moaned and exaggerated how good the ice cream tasted._

_"Finn…" She whined and then crossed her arms tighter around her chest, "Fine. I don't care. I don't even want any."_

_Finn taunted, his dimples showing, "You know you do so tell me what's wrong and you can have some."_

_She crossed her arms again and avoided staring at the ice cream. She grabbed a couch pillow and hugged it._

_Finn put his ice cream down on the table in front of them and turned to her. His voice was gentle and his eyes were understanding, "I just want you to talk to me about it."_

_She looked down at the carpet with glistening eyes. She refused to look up until she knew she wouldn't cry. She was frustrated and embarrassed and she didn't want to be reminded of it._

_He spoke again. "You're right… We're older now and dessert probably isn't the best way to fix anything, but. I just, I really want to help you Rach." He sighed, "Remember that day we went to the Candy Cove with my mom and your dad? The first time we ever had our dessert deal? Your dad kept singing that Madonna song to us, and he acted like I held the lock and you held the key."_

_"_Open Your Heart_," She said the title of the song and then looked up at him, "You remember that?"_

_He nodded with a smile, "I secretly really like that song. It's awesome, but don't tell any of the guys because I won't hear the end of it."_

_She rolled her eyes playfully and Finn continued, "I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I want you to open your heart to me, Rach. I'm here for you."_

_Rachel took a deep breath and decided to start talking, "Santana is just… She's such a… a bitch!" Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink at the mention of the work and her eyebrows creased, "Cheerios shouldn't even be at our games! Girls cheering for girls? It's- it's ridiculous!"_

_Finn stayed quiet, not sure what was going on since he had his game around the same time._

_"I was fantastic the whole game, running as fast as I was able to and catching everything that came my way, but then she started throwing her insults at me instead of cheering. It was so distracting! I finally got fed up and I turned to her and gave her a piece of my mind. When I did, the ball flew right passed me and the other team ended up having two runs instead of us getting a double play."_

_He frowned, "And they won?"_

_She nodded sadly, "Coach yelled at me and the cheerios made fun of me more."_

_Finn played with the corner of the pillow she was hugging, "You can't let her get to you like that anymore. Santana is going to keep being a bitch but you can't let that mess you up. It was just one game, you can redeem yourself next time. You're better than any of the insults and names she calls you, Rach."_

_A smile slowly appeared on her face, "Why do I give in to you so easily?"_

_"You're welcome," He smirked and reached for the ice cream but Rachel grabbed it with the spoon. _

_"That's my spoon!" He said reaching for it unsuccessfully. _

_She simply laughed and scooped away. She handed him the spoon after another bite._

_"I hold the lock and you hold the key," He reminded her with an easy smile._

_And from then on, they finished it with that. No matter who was feeling down or upset, they always had those as their last lines._

**End of flashback.**

He pulled up into the parking spot and set the car in 'park'. Rachel watched him step on the emergency brake and groaned.

"Finn, please. What's wrong? Just turn the key and open it _up_!" She stopped begging, "Wait, is it something I did?"

He wanted to say no, of course not. Well, I mean. It was related to her so maybe he should tell her. But he didn't want to tell her that he didn't like the looks guys were giving her. He didn't want to tell her that Puck's face is starting to really give him the urge to kick a chair. He didn't want her to know how much he was starting to like the way she looked in his jacket. He didn't want to remember the way her voice sounded when she was laughing and talking to Karofsky. And he definitely didn't want to mention what the guys were saying in the locker room about her.

She looked genuinely worried and Finn couldn't take it. He shook his head, "Locker room talk was just too much for me today I guess."

Her features relaxed a little as she waited for him to continue. He unbuckled his seatbelt and watched as she followed suit, "The guys were talking about how good you look. They said they wished they knew you looked like that before because they would've "definitely" played tackle football with you. Was that supposed to be clever?" He shook his head. "And they just said all these things that made me wanna break their necks."

He glared, "It's- It's just, _wrong_. And they think they'll be able to _have _you, Rachel! _Have_ you! Like you're a piece of meat or something."

Rachel's never heard of anything like this before. No one's ever wanted her that way and she wasn't sure how she should react. One part surprised and even flattered that there were actually people who considered her as more than just a good teammate, but the other part of her wanted to beat the guys up herself. They should know she's not like that.

"Finn-"

"And I couldn't beat the shit out of their faces because I can't risk losing my position…"

She smiled at him, "You're a great friend, Finn. I appreciate that you care so much, but there's nothing to waste your energy over. Boys just get excited and turn into dogs when they see girls, and unfortunately my new look ignited those feelings for them. Don't stress yourself out because they don't know how to keep their mouths shut."

He sighed and looked away, trying to process what she was saying.

"And while this is the first and only time boys are speaking about me or looking at me this way, I know it's just a silly phase for them. Tomorrow, they'll remember I'm just Rachel Berry and everything will be back to normal."

Finn shook his head, "But you've never been 'just' Rachel Berry. You're more than what they say about you." He groaned as a new thought came to his mind, "What if someone actually tries something? Or worse, what if you actually _like_ what they say and do? What if it gets to your head and you stop being you? What if you turn into a _Cheerio_ or something?"

Rachel bursted into laughter, "Seriously Finn? Enough with the 'what ifs' please. You're going insane."

He joked, "Maybe you should just lay off the new clothes for a while and frizz your hair back to normal. It'll give me some piece of mind and the boys will have time to cool off."

She rolled her eyes, "My own father isn't as bothered by the idea of boys going after me as you are. Really Finn," She assured him. "I'm sure the shock of my new look will wear off tomorrow."

Rachel turned away from him and grabbed her backpack. She unzipped the small zipper and pulled out a granola bar and handed it to him, "Here, closest thing to dessert."

He nodded and unwrapped it, quickly taking a bite. He smiled sheepishly, "I'm sorry… I know it's only the first day of your makeover thing, and I'm already freaking out."

"No need for apologies, Finn," She said with a shake of her head. "It's incredibly sweet that you're so concerned but there's no reason to be."

They got out of his truck and walked to the elevator. When they entered he continued their conversation, "Tina said I'm just being an over-protective brother or whatever."

She looked a bit confused, matching Finn's expression, "Oh. Well, thanks I suppose… Whatever you are, I'll hold the lock and you hold the key."


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Thank you so so_ so_ much for all the feedback! I felt like I was Sam being welcomed back in the choir room hehe. Let's all break out into a verse of "Red Solo Cup" shall we? ;). Kidding of course. But I really do appreciate all the reviews and new follows!

Special shout out to **Just A Muggle Artist**! I know our 'confident sport diva' may not be at her full potential in this chapter, but I just really loved that description! Hope you and everyone else enjoys this! Feel free to give any suggestions or let me know what you guys want to see happen! :) Enjoy!

- Elise :)

* * *

Carole Hudson peeped her head out of the doorway and exclaimed when she saw them down the hall, "Oh! Finally you two are home! Hiram…"

Her voice trailed off as she ran back inside. Rachel and Finn turned to each other with confused expressions before walking into the Hudson apartment.

"Mom, why're you so excited to have us home?" Finn asked as Rachel gave a questioning look to her father and her best friend's mother. The sound of footsteps coming from the direction of the bathroom caused them to turn their heads.

A tall man with dark hair and chiseled features appeared from the small hallway. He was dressed in all black: a leather jacket, fitted top, and slick pants. He stopped in his tracks and took in Rachel and Finn's appearances with a slight squint.

"Glad you could join us," He said, not adding anything else.

Rachel followed Finn as he dropped his backpack on the ground near the doorway.

"My apologies, Dustin," Hiram started. "They usually don't take too long after practices to get home."

Finn and Rachel continued to stand there with confused expressions, waiting for someone to fill them in.

The tall man walked forward and stuck his hands out for Finn and Rachel to take, "The name is Dustin Goolsby. I work for _Rhythm Adrenaline_, the state's number one dance troupe, I'm sure you've heard of us."

Finn wanted to laugh, why the hell would they know that. Rachel just nodded, not knowing what to say.

Carole stood up and handed him a CD as she explained to the two confused teenagers. "The Berry family gathering is coming up, and we need you guys to be ready for the dancing."

"But we never dance at those things!" Rachel complained as her father shook her head at her.

"You're older now, it's expected. You know how those dinners are."

These dinners happen every four years. All of Rachel's family gets together to have little reunions but they all know it's really to compare their achievements and children. Hiram and Rachel stopped going for a couple of dinners when Leroy passed away but with the support of Carole and Finn they started going again. Last dinner they were lucky because both Rachel and Finn had championship games that day so they didn't have to attend, but there was no way out this year. The other Berry family members would find out and it would only cause more trouble for them.

Finn groaned. He wanted so badly to say that he's not even a Berry, but he knew better.

Hiram waved them off, "Hush now, listen to Dustin so you guys can begin your dance lessons."

Finn and Rachel didn't reply and simply walked into the living room. The furniture was already pushed so that there was more room to dance so they decided to stand in the center and wait for Dustin to begin.

He gave them a little introduction to "the art that is dance" and even showed them a little one-two step. He showed them the basic step for each of them and then instructed them to the same. They followed Dustin's directions to the best of their abilities. Every now and then he would remind Rachel to let Finn lead and when she finally did, they were able to perform the basic steps. Dustin nodded quietly when they got the hang of it and introduced the spin. Once they performed it a couple of times, he stopped them.

Dustin walked to the CD player and turned to them, "Let's take it from the top."

He selected a song and signaled for them to begin again. He counted them in before walking to sit with the parents in the dining area.

"So, are these two an item?" He asked quietly, stirring up some small talk with his new clients.

"No," Carole smiled as she watched the two interact with each other. "Do you think they will be?"

Hiram smiled next to her, "Your Finn would be perfect for my star, but I don't know… Do you think they could fall in love like that?"

Dustin shrugged, "Would you like to hear it from my perspective?"

The two parents nodded. "I'd say based on the way he's looking into her eyes and the way his hands are placed carefully around her waist, I think he's already starting to feel something." He added, "I've had my fair share of couples as clients, but I can't be too sure."

Hiram shook his head in disbelief, "Finn has always been careful with my daughter, I'm sure they're just friends."

Carole just glanced her friend, "You're gonna have to accept it sooner or later, Hiram. We're gonna be in-laws one day." She joked.

Hiram sighed with a shake of his head. He laughed and joked back, "What did I do? We should have just kept her the way she was."

The three adults continued to watched the two of them dance together.

"I don't think this guy's so bad," Rachel commented in a hushed tone.

Finn smiled and matched her tone, "Only because you're actually good at dancing."

She looked down at her feet and back up at Finn, "Yeah I suppose I am. But you," she laughed softly, "You're not so great."

He frowned, watching his feet to make sure he doesn't step on hers. "I know. I hope I don't embarrass you at the dinner."

Rachel shook her head, "I was only kidding, Finn. You'll never embarrass me." She smiled, "You're wonderful."

His eyes twinkled at her compliment and his smile reappeared on his face. He spun her, "So are you excited to complete the rest of your girly list?"

She rolled her eyes at the name but nodded her head nonetheless. "Actually yes, I am. I'm sort of looking forward to going to the dance now."

Finn didn't miss the way her cheeks colored a light blush as she admitted, "I'm hoping someone will ask me. I know it's silly but-"

He shook his head, "It's not. I mean, you are a girl so I think that's normal."

Rachel laughed, "Leave it to you to tell me what's normal for a girl."

He just gave her a crooked smile and continued their dance.

* * *

The next morning, Finn drove to school by himself. When he knocked on the Berry's door, Rachel answered but in her pajamas. She told him that she needed help with her outfit or something. She mentioned something about calling Kurt and maybe curling her hair? He wasn't really listening so he just nodded and went to his truck alone.

The three guys were standing around Finn's locker.

Mike's eyes widened as he commented, "I didn't even know she owned one of those."

"Alert the media! Rachel Berry is wearing a dress!" Puck pretended to get the school's attention as she walked down the hallway to meet up with the boys.

Finn turned from his locker and his jaw dropped a little at the sight of her. If he knew she was going to dress like that, he would've waited for her. Finn blinked a few times, not sure if this was some sort of dream or not. He doesn't think he's ever seen Rachel in something so…

"Hot," Puck mumbled as she continued walking their way, turning everyone's heads.

Her long brown hair was in soft curls that cascaded down her shoulders and hovered over the exposed skin on her back. She was wearing a burgundy cap sleeved, bodycon styled dress that stopped just above the middle of her thigh. It hugged her in places that Finn could only imagine being able to touch. Her tanned skin glowed against the dark red of the dress and her nude flats made her legs look impossibly long.

Finn's eyes followed the curves of her body and subconsciously licked his lips. They wandered from the fabric covered shoulders to the round neckline that highlighted her kissable collarbone. His eyes traced the outlines of her waist and down to her thighs. Despite what he told her yesterday in the truck, Finn could definitely get used to Rachel's new look.

He blinked again and noticed the rest of the guys who were looking at her the way he was. He nudged Puck to stop his drifting thoughts and watched as Mike shook his head back to reality and turned around to look for Tina.

Rachel finally stood in front of them beaming. "Dresses are so liberating! I can't believe I didn't think to wear these before. It's almost as if I'm not wearing anything."

Puck bit his lip, "Tell me about it. I bet I could see your ovaries if you bent over."

"Bro," Finn warned him with a hit to the arm, "She's still Rachel, give her some respect."

Puck wiggled his eyebrows at her, "I'd like to give her something else…"

"Noah!" She gasped and then returned to her outfit. "It's not too much right? I called Kurt to ask him about doing these curls and he said that these shoes and this dress were a good match."

Finn shook his head and immediately complimented, "You look amazing."

She gazed up at him and watched as he took out his letterman jacket, "Maybe you should keep wearing this though, so you know… guys don't-"

She stopped him with a hand on his arm, "Finn we talked about this. It's fine. They're just staring and whispering around me, no one's actually causing _real_ harm. If I'm going to make it as a professional athlete, I'll have to get used to it."

Finn quietly groaned, "Fine, but the moment someone says or does-"

Rachel gave him a look and he sighed in defeat, shoving his jacket back into his locker. The three of them turned around to meet up with Tina and Mike but were cut off by Santana and Quinn.

Both Cheerios had glares on their faces. Britney followed behind them with a blank expression.

Quinn's glare almost changed into the a small smile when she and Puck shared eye contact, but once she turned her attention back to Rachel the glare reappeared.

"What do you think you're doing wearing that?" Santana sized her up and down, "Aren't you afraid you'll get arrested for impersonating a woman?"

Rachel glared back, "Are you? Because last time I checked, you're the one who got a boob job."

Santana rolled her eyes, unable to respond cleverly. "Whatever Yentl," she spat and was ready to head off into the other direction. But before she did, she turned to Finn and pursed her full lips to make a kiss in the air. She whispered seductively, "I'll see you later, Finnegan."

Rachel wanted to scream when they walked away. She was excited to wear her new dress and curled hair with pride. They shouldn't be able to bring down her her high spirits.

"Damn, Berry," Puck grinned. "I always liked watching you go at it with Santana but now that you look like _this_…" He whistled.

Finn balled his fists together to keep himself from saying anything to Puck and chose to lead the trio to Mike and Tina.

"Oh!" Rachel muttered, "Shoot, I forgot to go to my locker. It must have slipped my mind with all this fuss over my dress. I'll be right back!"

She turned her heels, not waiting for a reply, and walked in the direction of her locker. Finn watched her as her hips swayed with every step.

Rachel slowed down her pace when she noticed a poster for the dance coming up. She sighed a little before continuing her way to her locker. She quickly unlocked it and retrieved the items she forgot.

Finn stopped nodding along and tuned out his friends' conversation when he noticed at the Karofsky was heading towards Rachel's way.

She closed her locker and turned towards him with a smile. He couldn't hear what she was saying so he tried his hardest to read their lips.

"So Berry," Dave said as he looked at the floor and then back at her. "You look," He cleared his throat, "You look good."

She smiled at him and brushed a curl out of her face, "Thank you."

Dave just nodded. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and looked around, "Do you wanna go to the dance with me?"

Rachel's eyebrows lifted in surprise. First of all, it was already weird having him be so vulnerable with this new tone he was speaking with, and second of all, what?

"Uh," She blinked profusely with her mouth open, not sure of what to say. She's never been asked before and she wasn't sure if going with Dave Karofsky was the best thing to do. The guys were never too fond of him, but it's not like it's really their decision. But then again, he was being surprisingly nice to her. And although she knows he can't throw a decent pass, that shouldn't be what she uses to determine his character. Actually, she knows a lot about his character. She knows he can be quite the violent guy when he feels like it and she knows that he's not very careful with women but that doesn't mean-

"It's fine if you don't want to," He said with his head a little low. He mumbled something about asking someone else but Rachel shyly caught his attention with her hand.

When he looked up she smiled nervously, "I-I'd love to."

He nodded, "Cool. I'll catch you later."

She smiled at him with that crazy smile that she gets when she scores the winning goal of her soccer match and inhales all the excitement before walking back.

Puck turned to Finn to ask if he agreed with what he was saying, but when Finn didn't respond he snapped his fingers. "Yo, Huddy! What're you staring at?"

They all turned to see what caught his attention and Puck smirked. "We know our little Jewish American princess is smokin' but really Finn, this is serious stuff we're talking about."

Tina smirked a little when she noticed Rachel's bright expression. "Guys, I think Karofsky just asked Rachel out."

Finn snapped his head towards Tina, "Do you really think so?"

She shrugged with a smile as they waited for Rachel to tell them what happened.

"So, is it true?" Mike asked as he played with the straps of his backpack. "Did Karofsky ask you out?"

Rachel was taken aback by the question. How did they find out? She shook the thoughts away and looked at the ground as she spoke. Her voice was lower than usual as she replied, "Well, technically yes."

She looked up and they all stared with different reactions so she continued, "He-He asked me to the dance and I accepted."

Puck raised an eyebrow, Mike smiled, and Tina grinned ready to gush about the dance with her. All the excitement caused Finn's unreadable expression to go unnoticed. He remained quiet until the bell rang and continued his silence well into lunch.

They all trickled into the cafeteria and sat down at the table. Puck teased Rachel as she joined them, "Sup Mrs. Karofsky."

Rachel shoved him and Mike wondered out loud, "I thought you said you didn't like anyone. I mean don't get me wrong, this is great and it could help you cross off that boyfriend thing on that list of yours but…"

"Just because I accepted his offer to take me to the dance doesn't mean I like him."

"So scandalous," Puck said sarcastically. "I didn't realize you were such a player."

They all continued teasing each other with jokes and playful glares, but Finn refused to join. He sat there playing with the crusts of his grilled cheese sandwich and didn't even try to fake a smile. He would grumble a little when they mentioned Rachel and Dave though.

"Finn?" Rachel finally noticed, "Is something bothering you?"

He just bit some of the crust and avoided her gaze. Rachel turned to the others and they simply shrugged in response. She poked him in his toned arm, "I'm your best friend, remember? You can tell me."

Finn sighed, "It's nothing."

Rachel rolled her eyes with a smile and warned, "Don't make me pull out the lock and key, Finn."

"What's the lock and key?" Tina asked but Finn interrupted. "Nothing, and I'm fine. Seriously."

Rachel refused to give up and continued to stare at him. Mike nodded with encouragement, "You can tell us."

"I was jealous," he mumbled, finally giving in. He avoided everyone's stares, still embarrassed from the admission of his feelings.

They all leaned in closer to him, trying to hear what he said. "What?"

Finn rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh, I was sort of," He continued to rub his neck, "I was… jealous."

"With what?" Rachel asked clearly confused. She put her carrot down and turned to see if anyone else understood what he was talking about.

"Never mind," He muttered, but Puck grew impatient.

"Stop being a chick and tell us what's wrong," He bit his pizza. "All this moping is gonna kill my natural buzz and I don't need any of that."

"Wait," Mike said, piecing everything together. His features lighting up when he finally understood what was happening, "You're jealous of Karofsky!"

Finn's eyes widened. He dropped his food, ready to defend himself. "I'm not-"

"Again?" Tina asked. "I thought we talked about the protective brother stuff already. You'll just need to get used to a few changes." She smiled, "And it's just a dance, Finn. Nothing's going to happen."

Puck almost spit his food out, "Hold up, you've _been_ jealous?"

"I just don't like how people have been talking about Rachel or how they look at her and-"

Puck howled with laughter, "That's not being a protective brother, that's some boyfriend shit!"

Finn shot him a look and Puck continued when he sobered up. "Seriously, I'd for sure beat anyone's ass if they tried to mess with little Berry, as would my boy Chang here and possibly Tina, but we're not going crazy over the little things. And trust me, I've been waiting for Karofsky to give me an excuse to pummel him."

Finn's features softened as he let Puck's talk seep into his mind. He didn't think Puck would actually be the one to put him in check, but he's glad he did.

Rachel's eyebrows were knit together with confusion during the whole conversation. "I still don't understand. Why are you jealous?"

Finn looked at his friends and then back at Rachel. He stated honestly, "I don't know."

She ended the conversation with a nod, and they all continued talking as if the jealousy topic had never been brought up. Puck still thought it was funny for Finn to react that way, but he didn't feel the need to joke about it anymore since it was a thing of the past. Mike was going to say that he felt that way about Tina, but he knew it would probably just egg Puck on and not really help Finn's "protective brother" issues. And Finn finally decided that Tina was probably the most right. He just needed to get used to all these changes going on… but if that was really the case, then he would need to get used to _a lot_ of changes.


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: **I'm so sorry! :( I was going to update so much sooner but my laptop restarted and the document wasn't saved… 'twas horrible. But it's okay because I have an update for you! xx

P.S. :( Two months without Cory. We gotta stick together, friends!

* * *

Rachel ran her hands through her curled hair before pulling up into a middle pony. She walked to the mirror and tightened it as she examined her outfit. She adjusted her red McKinley Phys. Ed t-shirt and tugged onto her short black shorts. She pulled her striped tube socks higher on her calves and bit her lip.

Earlier on the phone, Kurt said it was an acceptable outfit. He said he would never wear it, but it could easily be considered "sporty chic" so it was okay.

She grabbed her water bottle and headed towards the weight room where some of the girls were already waiting.

Just as she was about to walk into the room, she was stopped by Santana, Quinn, and Britney.

"Why were you wearing Puckerman's letterman yesterday?" Quinn glared with crossed arms.

Rachel sighed, "It was Finn's."

"Why were you wearing _Finn's_ jacket then?" She repeated with an eye roll. "He's not your boyfriend is he? Are you forcing Finn to be your beard?"

"Finn's a beard?" The two girls turn to Britney, ignoring Rachel for the quick moment. "Why don't you just glue a wig on your face? That would be so much easier."

Rachel took that as her opportunity to leave them and head into the weight room. They called for her but she ignored them as she approached the room.

Once she walked in, Shelby took a gulp of her water and looked around the room. "Glad you're all on time. Like usual, I'll let you know when it's time to rotate on the equipment and then we'll head outside for some laps. Stacy, you can set up the music."

Stacy nodded and quickly turned the radio on and the girls went to the different exercise stations. Rachel went to the cable tower to work on her arms first. She grabbed the bar and started to curl it up to her shoulders, focusing on the way her muscles were toning up.

Jennifer started working on the tower next to her, and after a few seconds she cleared her throat. Rachel glanced at the red head in the hot pink spandex, but quickly returned her attention back to the machine and her exercises.

Rachel usually keeps to herself when she lifts. She doesn't like to waste her focus on talking when she could be focusing her energy on being the best she can be. Sometimes she's so focused that she doesn't even notice the music playing in the background.

But Jennifer cleared her throat again so Rachel turned glanced sideways once more.

She flashed a smile as she adjusted her white headband, "So I heard you're going to the dance with Dave."

Rachel just nodded, hoping to continue her workout in silence.

Jennifer eyed her carefully before continuing, "So you're not going with Finn?"

Rachel curled the bar towards her shoulders with furrowed eyebrows. Why does everyone ask if she's with Finn? She shook her head, no.

"Cool," she replied simply and continued with her exercises. Jennifer isn't bothered by Rachel's silence and actually preferred it since it seemed to be for the better anyway. She just needed her information and would be on her way.

"Why do you ask?"

She just shrugged, but Rachel knew she had her reasons and was just holding back. Jennifer was the type of girl who wasn't afraid to go after what she wants, but not in the admirable, determined way Rachel is. She's a bit on the promiscuous side, and Rachel's pretty sure that she'd be on the Cheerios if she wasn't playing volleyball. She thinks that's why she doesn't really like her. She reminds her of Quinn and Santana.

Jennifer finally shared her carefully chosen information, "Rumors say you're his girlfriend now."

"Really?" Rachel asked, her eyebrows raised slightly.

"Well people thought you were a new girl and then they saw you in his jacket all day." She said with an exasperated tone, "I don't know, Berry. Just put in a good word for me okay."

Rachel looked hesitant. She and Finn don't really talk about relationships or people like that. Sometimes Finn will mention a girl he's gonna take out or something or the guys will talk about girls they think are hot, but it's not usually what they talk about. If they bring up someone it's usually to complain about the guys or girls on their teams. To be honest, Jennifer isn't really her favorite teammate and Finn would already know that. Ever since Rachel was chosen to be the libero sophomore year, Jennifer made it clear that she was not pleased with it. She tried to compete with her or give her problems whenever she could.

"Oh come on," she started. "Just let him know I'm interested."

Rachel pulled the bar up, "Why don't you?"

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Just talk me up like guys usually do. You can be like my wing man instead of his or whatever you boys do."

Rachel didn't respond so Jennifer continued. "Tell him that if he takes me to homecoming, I promise I'll leave him satisfied."

Rachel wanted to fake a gag but decided it was smarter to not. She suppressed an eye roll. "Sure Jen," She said with a hint of sarcasm.

"It's Jennifer," She corrected and Rachel just shrugged.

Everyone switched machines and Rachel went to the leg press. She sat down and began to get into the zone again. After a few minutes, her mind wandered to her checklist.

Tina could count as her new female friend. Sure she talked to Kurt more, but a friend is a friend, right? Right. So that's done, she has a female friend. And she has a new wardrobe, some make up… She's even going to a dance now. Homecoming to be exact, so does that count as having/going on a date? Maybe she'll get a boyfriend out of it, too!

Her eyebrows were furrowed with focus as she continued to exercise. Oh, and does she really need a diary? She'll have to talk to her father about that.

She filed that thought away and rotated to the inclined bench. She grabbed the dumbbells and continued to think about her checklist.

She remembered it said something about her needing to try new hobbies. What can she possibly do that can be considered girly? Or at least something new that she'll like? She hasn't tried hockey yet, but she's pretty sure that Carol and her father didn't mean for her to try out a new sport. Maybe she'll call Kurt and see what he says.

She smiled a little to herself, or maybe the guys could help her. They were always helpful so they probably had some suggestions up their sleeves. After a few more minutes they switched one more time before finally going on a break. They grabbed their waters and then headed outside toward the field.

They all crowded near the bleachers and sipped their waters. Rachel immediately looked out on the field to watch the football team. She searched for her boys and smiled at Mike when she found him. He had just finished the drill and smiled back at her. Puck and Finn were busy so she didn't get to say hi to them. Once everyone looked rested and ready to continue, she decided that it would be a good time to start their stretches.

Like the incredible captain she was, she instructed everyone to spread out into a circle so she could lead the stretches. She started on their upper body and counted out.

Mike nudged Finn and Puck to say hi to Rachel. When they finally looked up, the girls were all stretching. Puck squinted, "I don't see her, but check out that ass."

The girls were bent over as they stretched out their hamstrings. They reached for their toes and Finn's eyes widened as he focused on the tanned legs and tight shorts.

"Whoa," he whispered then cleared his throat as they changed positions. "Wait, dude. That's Rachel."

They stared at her a little before turning their attention back to their practice. He should've known it was her, but he's not used to her wearing those kinds of clothes. Sure, she's been really hot lately but even for practice? I mean, the hotness had to take a break some time, right? Apparently he was wrong, but he wasn't going to complain.

Coach Beiste blew her whistle and told the guys to line up so they could run some plays.

Finn turned to look at the girls again, but noticed that they were all jogging to the track for laps. He was about to wave at Rachel, but Coach Beiste blew her whistle again.

"You boys better not be distracted by those ladies!" She warned before walking back to her spot on the sidelines.

They all ran to the line of scrimmage and found their positions. Puck and Mike jogged to the far ends of the line to their positions as the wide receivers. Dave found his spot as the guard as Azimio stood next to him as tackle. Finn fell behind and crouched down as quarterback.

He looked up and his eyes scanned the field and all the players. He ran through the play in his mind and waited for his coach to finally blow the whistle so they could start.

"Damn, did you see Berry? You aren't gonna wait 'til homecoming to give it to her, are you?" He asked and Finn's head jerked at the sound of her name. He turned to his left and right to see if Puck or Mike heard, but of course they were too far to hear so he tried his best to ignore him.

Dave replied back, but unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) Finn didn't hear him. Azimio laughed, "She definitely has what it takes to be my tight end, if you know what I'm saying."

Finn's eyes bore holes in the two players' backs, what was taking Coach Beiste so long?

"I'd play quarterback if I could have her bent over in front of me." Finn could see his helmet turn to Dave as he spoke more.

"Knock it off, Azimio," Finn said, unable to keep himself from saying anything to him. "Focus on our play."

Dave replied but Finn couldn't hear him. Azimio continued, "Seriously, she could spread her legs wide and receive this-"

Finn lunged at him and tackled him to the floor. Azimio's helmet flew off from the sudden movement and Finn turned him so that he could face him. He took the moment to punch him square in the face two times, and Azimio tried to punch him back but was stopped. People were holding their arms back and separating them. Puck and Mike gripped Finn's arms tightly as Dave blocked Azimio off.

"What the _hell_ is going on here?" Coach Beiste roared as she made her way towards the group of boys. She stood in between Finn and Azimio causing Puck and Mike to loosen their grips.

"White boy over there just attacked me for no damn reason!" Azimio glared.

"He was disrespecting-"

"Please!" Azimio scoffed. "I'm not the one who'll be "disrespecting" her homecoming night, that's all Karof-"

Coach Beiste put her hands up. "I run the S.S. Kick-ass, not the S.S. Girl fight! Save this for the locker rooms."

"But Coach," Finn started but she interrupted him.

"You guys have got to find a way to come together or we're gonna get our asses kicked from here until Tuesday finds a saddleback full of buckwheat!"

All the guys looked around with confused looks. Puck's voice was barely above a whisper, "What?"

"Now," She continued. "Unfortunately, I may have to have you guys sit out our next game-"

"You can't be serious!" Azimio exclaimed and she turned to him in an instant. "Watch your tone with me missy! You crap on my leg, I'll cut it off!"

"Please, Coach. I'm sure there's something else we could do," Finn pleaded. He can't miss their homecoming game.

She sighed, "Well I am a fair lady, so I won't do that. Instead, give me ten laps and we'll call it even. _Don't_ make me regret it." She warned and gave them a look that made them drop their helmets on the sidelines and run onto the track.

Rachel's eyebrows were furrowed as she watched the guys from her spot on the track. She gave Finn a small smile as he came running onto the track. He's been acting strange lately. Finn never gets jealous of anyone or anything and he definitely never loses his cool. What's going on with him?

She knew that Finn had ten laps to do, but she only had three more. She turned to him, "You okay? What happened?"

He just nodded, "Don't worry about it. I just need to finish these laps so we can get home."

Rachel was about to question him once more, but he spoke again. "I bet you I could finish at the same time as you."

"Finn, I know how many laps Coach Beiste demands and I only have three more to go." She said as best as she could without sounding too out of breath. The sweat glistened on her face, "I highly doubt you and I can finish at the same time."

Finn smirked at her, "I'll see you when we're done."

She shook her head with a smile and watched him sprint passed her.

Finally done, she walked off the track and grabbed her water near the bleachers. Her brows wrinkled as she looked for her water bottle. She could have sworn this is where it was because she always leaves it there. When she looked up she gasped, "Impossible!"

She walked up to the step of the bleacher and waited for him to finish drinking water. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand after handing it to her. "You were actually really slow," He chuckled. "If you ran like you normally do, I probably would've been eight more minutes."

Rachel couldn't believe it, but didn't question it as they walked down to the locker rooms together. After they freshened up they went to the truck like usual and headed back to Finn's for their dance practice with Dustin.

* * *

**A/N:** So my university starts soon… I know it's later than everyone else's but that's not the point hehe. The point is… unfortunately I won't be updating as soon as I should or would! Just a heads up, but that doesn't mean I'm neglecting the story! You readers and reviewers (and the story of course) mean far too much for me to do that! Hope you enjoyed this little chapter hehe. Don't forget to review please! And watch Dancing with the Stars and vote for Amber! And the Emmy's for when they mention our love Cory!


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: **LOL, someone said that I don't really update now so there wouldn't really be a difference now that I'm back at school. And unfortunately for me, you my friend are correct! I have been super busy, but that's no excuse. What I meant in my last author's note was that since I'll be moving back, I won't be able to update as quickly as I could've now (which isn't that quickly but whatevs hehe).

Anyway, thank you! You made me laugh because it's so true and I think your review was a nice wake up call you know? I suppose that gave me more motivation to write this asap! Not that I don't have any motivation now though. Just think of it as the motivation Rachel gets at the end of the Silly Love Song episode hehe. (Firework hehe so sad yet so good)

I don't want anyone to be unhappy or gimme some of dat sassy pants so here I am with a new chapter! This is for you **Guest** :) and everyone who's still with me! Thanks a bunch, loves! And whoa! Sorry for the long note hahaha

- Elise

P.S. Did y'all see Amber on DWTS?! So good!

* * *

"And Jennifer said she'd "keep you satisfied" if you took her to homecoming." Rachel wrinkled her nose in disgust, "She's very forward."

Finn shrugged as he followed Dustin's instructions. "She's just being honest."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Sure, an honest-"

"One and two, three… four." Dustin nodded as he watched them dance around the room, "Good, but Finn remember your posture."

Finn straightened up and spoke softly to Rachel, "I like you in your heels, by the way. It's weird having you taller than three feet."

She mocked, "I like you in your button up, _by the way_. It's weird seeing you have no food stains on your shirt."

"My shirts don't have food stains on it!" He feigned offense and smirked, "Not like you could see my shirts from way down there anyway."

Rachel smiled with a roll of her eyes as they carried on their dance in the living room. The two had been talking quietly with each other since the beginning of their lesson since Dustin only offered comments once in a while to help them keep the rhythm. Dustin walked away to adjust the music and watched them from a distance. They were so caught up in their conversations and dance that they didn't notice the door open.

"Hey guys," Carole whispered. "Come in, but keep it down so you can still watch them."

Puck entered with a smirk and Mike entered with raised eyebrows. They hugged Carole before sitting next to a smiling Hiram.

"Is Rachel going to wear those heels for the dance?" Mike asked Hiram in a hushed tone.

He shook his head, "No, we'll let her buy a new-" Hiram stopped and grinned, "My little star has a date?"

"Yup, Karofsky asked her." Puck commented as he watched his two friends. He turned to Hiram, "Wait, is this for the Berry family gathering?"

Carole nodded and Dustin turned the music off. "I'm very pleased with your progress."

Puck and Mike clapped loudly causing Rachel's eyes to go wide as Finn's cheeks reddened. They had no idea that their friends were there.

Dustin grabbed his music and said his goodbyes. Puck and Mike helped push the furniture back to where it was and sat down on the couch.

"What're you guys doing here?" Finn asked as he dropped on the seat next to Mike. Rachel sat down next to Puck and took off her heels.

Mike shrugged, "We just-"

"Rachel, you didn't tell me you had a date to the dance." Hiram interrupted with crossed arms.

She shrugged as she played with hem of her dress.

"Why don't you go buy a dress?"

Rachel looked up at her father and smiled. She _did_ just discover her new-found love for dresses so it's not like she wouldn't enjoy looking. "I suppose I can ask Kurt for help."

She walked over to her backpack and grabbed her phone. "Hey Kurt…" She started and laughed. Rachel explained that she needed his help finding a dress. He said that he would get off his shift soon and that she should meet him there. She kissed her father before taking the keys to his car and drove to the mall, leaving the boys at the Hudson apartment.

Carole went across the hall to help Hiram cook dinner as soon as she noticed the boys would be staying. Sometimes when the parents realize that the boys will be over around dinner time, they get together to make a dinner for all of them. Sometimes what the single parents prepare for their small families isn't enough for their children's hungry friends. She left them to play their games with a quick wave.

Finn turned on the game console, pressed eject, and put the disc in.

Mike resumed their conversation, "So what happened with Azimio earlier?"

Finn sighed. He didn't really want to talk about it. He got lucky earlier when Rachel dropped it and even forgot about it because they had their dance lesson. Maybe if he sets the game up faster they'll forget about it, too.

Puck laughed as he grabbed a controller and handed another to Mike, "You're lucky we got there when we did or he would've gone Death Star on your ass."

Finn chuckled lightly and pressed the colored buttons on his controller in silence. His two friends waited for him to reply. With a sigh, he started.

"He was just talking about Rachel and-"

"Again?" Puck asked as he selected their teams and levels. "Thought you were passed this big brother shit."

Finn avoided their eye contact and watched the loading screen on the TV. "I am. Well, I mean I thought I was. Azimio was just really offensive and wouldn't stop going on about her."

Their location finally loaded and all that was heard was the sounds of buttons being pressed.

"But you know, Rach did look really good today," Puck said as he pulled the right trigger of his controller.

Finn glared at the screen and shot Puck's character as soon as he saw him.

Puck didn't think anything of the kill and Mike shrugged. He kept his eyes on the TV screen as he spoke, "I wouldn't know. The only girl I have eyes for is Tina."

"You love her?" Puck asked as he launched a grenade towards Finn's area. It wasn't the expected response, but it didn't stop Mike from replying truthfully.

Mike smiled, "Yeah, I do."

The corner of Finn's mouth turned up into a lopsided smile, he couldn't help but be happy for his friend. "That's awesome, man. How do you know though?"

Mike shrugged, "I don't know… it's just this feeling I get."

Puck zoomed in on his screen and killed Mike's character with one shot. Finn whispered a 'nice' before Puck asked, "Care to explain? I mean, since you're the only one stupid enough to be a tied down."

Mike paused the game and turned to them. His eyebrows pinched together as he eyed his friends, "Are you serious? Because I will if you want me to. I don't need you guys making fun of me though."

Puck nodded and put his controller down. Finn slowly put his down as well and turned to Mike. Puck's sudden interest in the topic of 'love' made Finn curious too.

"Well, I guess…" He sat there pondering for a moment before speaking again. "Whenever she's around I'm happy. She makes me feel like I can take over the world. It's like I can do anything you know? Even crazy things like quit football and dance on stage or something."

Finn nodded along with Puck as they talked about a topic they didn't normally go over.

"And the little things she does makes me smile." He continued, "I wanna be able to take care of her the way she takes care of me. Like when she rubs vapor rub on my chest? It's-"

Puck made a face and Finn stifled a laugh.

Mike threw a pillow at them, "You guys asked."

"Sorry," Puck mumbled.

He reached for his controller and said one last thing before resuming the game, "And I really hate it when she mentions other guys or when she's with anyone else. I wanna be the only one for her. I think I'm better about that jealousy stuff now though because she always lets me know that I have nothing to worry about."

Puck smirked, "I bet she does."

Mike's words echoed in Finn's head. All of those things Mike mentioned are the same things Finn feels about Rachel. He leaned his head back against the couch and closed his eyes.

"You okay there Huddy?" Puck asked as he tossed the controller on his lap, "I wanna go play zombie mode soon."

* * *

"Kurt!" Rachel couldn't help but squeal with excitement as she walked out of the dressing room, "I think I love this dress."

Kurt smiled, as they walked to the counter to pay. "Now, tell me more about this Karofsky fellow."

"I told you, Kurt," She smiled. "He's barely a friend. I don't really have any real feelings for him."

Kurt handed her dress to the worker and spoke as she scanned the tag, "My little diva, already using people to get what she wants."

"I'm not using him!" Rachel said with wide eyes and Kurt waved her off, "Oh calm down, I was kidding. I understand, he's just a date. Nothing special."

She smiled with a shake of her head and paid for her dress. With linked arms, Rachel and Kurt walked out of the store.

"So any other ideas on what I should try for a new hobby?" Rachel asked.

They had been throwing out ideas since she first started trying on dresses. Kurt's suggestions were helpful, but nothing seemed to fit her or her schedule. Designing her own clothes wouldn't work because she could barely style her practice clothes for volleyball, 'doing' make-up wouldn't work either because she barely put any on and when she did it came off later for when she had to play, and theatre wasn't good either because she shouldn't be spending her time trying to remember lines when she had to be remembering plays instead (not that she had the time anyway).

"Baking?" He asked.

She tilted her head at him as they walked arm in arm, "That's actually not a bad idea, Kurt."

Kurt stopped walking and turned to Rachel, his eyes wide with excitement. "Join the glee club!"

Rachel's face scrunched up with laughter as she threw her head back, "For a second I thought you were serious. Really funny, Kurt but I think baking is a fine idea."

She tried to link arms with him again, ready to continue walking when he stopped. He put his hand on his hip and huffed. "Rachel Berry, what is so funny about joining the glee club? I was in it."

Rachel stopped laughing and opened her mouth before closing it again. "I'm sorry, Kurt. Nothing's wrong with it at all. I'm just not so sure I can keep up vocally with the rest of the students. I've never sang before."

Kurt linked his arm with hers again and smiled, "It sounds like a great opportunity to try something new. Who knows? You might actually enjoy it and discover the real diva inside." He shrugged a little, "If it doesn't work out, go back to baking."

She bit her lip in thought. "I _do_ enjoy challenges. I suppose I can ask Tina about the club tomorrow at school."

He nodded eagerly, and they walked to the exit of the mall. Once they stepped outside near the parking garage he unlinked his arm with hers and hugged her. "Well, I'm glad I could help, but I need to head back home and start dinner."

She hugged him back tightly and walked in the opposite direction. She stopped after two steps and turned to him, "Come over!"

Kurt turned around, "What?"

"Come over," She repeated. "Have dinner with me and my father. It can be my way of saying thank you. I'm sure he'd love to meet you."

He bit his lip before finally giving in, "I'd love to."

Kurt followed her home and parked in the open spot next to her. When Rachel walked into the apartment she was surprised to see everyone already there. The boys were at the table with Puck and Mike sitting next to each other and across from Finn. He had changed out of his button up and into a grey t-shirt. Carole was passing out plates and utensils when she looked up at Rachel. Hiram turned off the stove and smiled at his daughter.

Rachel placed her shopping bag on the ground near the counter and kissed him on the cheek.

"Do you always have so many guests during dinner?" Kurt joked as he followed her in.

Rachel smiled, "Kurt, this is Carole, Finn's mother, and this is my father Hiram. You remember Finn, Noah, and Mike, right?"

She went to grab an extra chair for Kurt and he nodded with a little wave. Carole smiled warmly at him as she helped Hiram put the food down. She sat at the head of the table, leaving the other for Hiram.

"So glad to finally meet you, Kurt." Hiram smiled and adjusted his glasses. "You've been very helpful and kind to my daughter."

Kurt waved him off the same way he waves off Rachel. He sat down next to Rachel who quickly began to gush about the dress she bought.

"Oh, Papa you will just _love_ the dress we bought." She beamed and added, "It's pink and-"

"Great," Puck said as he accepted the bowl from Carole. "Look what you've done. Rachel's a girly girl now."

She rolled her eyes and helped toss the salad more, "I know it's shocking, but I'm actually very excited to go to this dance. I always attend the game, but I've never been to the dance."

Rachel smiled and served herself some of the salad, "And I'll be wearing a dress! Can you believe it?"

Finn smiled. Her excitement was too contagious to ignore. Rachel's phone started ringing and she glanced at her father. He nodded and she went to answer it.

The table was quiet with only the sound of silverware clinking on plates at the table.

Rachel walked to the counter and grabbed her phone, "Hello?"

"Hey, what's-" Her smiled slowly faded as she nodded. "Oh… O-Of course. I understand."

Disappointment coated Rachel's eyes as she looked on the ground sadly. She finished her phone call with a small frown. Everyone watched as she forced a laugh as she sat down again.

"I guess we have to return my dress," She tried to say it as nonchalantly as she could and took a bite of her food.

They all watched her with confusion. Carole wiped her mouth with a napkin, "But honey you were raving about that dress just a few minutes ago."

"Who called you?" Hiram asked with concern as Rachel played with her food.

"It was Dave. He said that he couldn't go with me anymore, and I'd hate for a beautiful dress like that to go to waste," Rachel tried her best to smile. "It's not like I wanted to go anyway right?"

Mike put his fork down, "Rachel, you just told us how excited you were. You know we could beat him up if you want."

A small but genuine smile appeared on her face, "It's okay, Mike. Thank you though."

"And we don't condone fights," Hiram reminded them and Puck sniggered. "Then you shouldn't ask Finn what he did today."

Hiram ignored the wide eyes of Finn and reached for his daughter's hand, "Bug, you don't need a date to go to the dance."

Rachel shook her head, "I'll look ridiculous without one. They'll just have more reasons to make fun of me."

Kurt placed his glass down and turned to her, "Although I agree with your father, who says you have to go alone?"

"Y-You wanna go with me?" She asked and Kurt almost spit his food out.

"Oh, definitely no," He shook his head. "I'm not stepping foot on high school grounds anymore, but Blaine, my boyfriend," He reminded her. "He could, or you know, I'm sure your boys would take you."

Rachel's eyes lit up as she turned to Finn and Puck. Carole and Hiram immediately agreed and the guys nodded along. The tense atmosphere was slowly shifting into the positive environment it once was just a few moments ago.

"I wouldn't want to make you guys look bad," She started and Finn shook his head. "You'd never make us look bad." He added more softly, "You're cool, Rachel."

She stared into his eyes, and Finn glanced down at her lips. He darted out his tongue over his bottom lip.

"So, who's going to take Rachel to the dance?" Carole, along with everyone else, was oblivious to the moment her son could've had (or was already having). She asked with a smile as she cut a piece of her meat.

"I'll take her," Puck looked up from his dinner and offered a smile. "It'll be fun."

Rachel beamed and Mike bit some of his salad, "It's settled then! We all have dates. Wait, what about you? Finn, are you okay?"

They all looked at Finn, but he shook his head. "I'm fine, just hungry. I'll have a date, don't worry."

Once they started fussing over Rachel and Puck, Finn tuned them out. He didn't want to hear how Puck thought it'd be a great idea for 'two hot Jews' to stick together. And even when they changed topics and Kurt started talking about something, he kept out of the conversation. He decided it would be better if he just kept to himself so that he could think. As an attempt to save himself from any interrogation, he would offer a light laugh and maybe a well placed head nod here and there. He at least appeared to be somewhat engaged in the conversations.

He tossed his meat around and thought about what Mike said earlier. He thought about what Tina said and what Puck said. He thought about everything, but it all came down to one thing.

He's falling for Rachel.

Or at least he has a crush on her. A crush that makes him angry when guys simply look at her, a crush that makes his heartbeat quicken when she laughs, a crush that with just one bat of her eyelashes makes his knees week, a crush that makes it hard for him to concentrate on anything else because she's all he can and wants to think about. A crush-

"Finn, honey?" His mom called out. "Did you say you wanted crushed pepper?"

He snapped his head up and shook his head immediately, "No-No I don't, it's okay."

She shrugged and they all continued talking. Finally, they finished dinner and Kurt decided it was time for him to back home. He thanked them for allowing him to join and hugged Rachel tightly before leaving. After a few minutes, Puck and Mike decided it was time for them to go as well. They went to hug Carole and Hiram and walked over to Rachel and Finn.

They gave Finn a strong clap on his back and Mike mussed Rachel's hair. She laughed as he did and tucked a hair behind her ear. Puck turned to her and winked, "See you later, _date_. I know it's not prom or anything, but I'll make sure to score a pink tie so we can match."

Finn held back an eye roll. Rachel grinned as she joked, "You better."

She stood up and put the dishes in the sink. Carole helped her clean up the table and then excused herself as she walked to her own home. Rachel watched as Finn plopped on the couch with a quiet sigh. He sat there staring at the blank screen of the TV, trying to convince himself that he's just appreciating the physical appearance of a girl and said girl just happened to be Rachel. No big deal. Mike's 'love talk' is just a coincidence.

She arched her eyebrow up in question before walking to her room to change. She came back out moments later in her large navy blue t-shirt and black sweat pants.

Finn groaned loudly and slapped his face into his hands. Who's he kidding? She's still beautiful. Nothing can change that. She could be wearing a garbage bag and have candy jewelry on and he'd still think so. He'd probably really like it actually, because he loves candy. And then he could throw away the string in her garbage bag clothes. If it got too dirty or something, he could just take it off of her and she'd-

"Are my old clothes that unbearable that even _you_ can't stand to look at me?" She frowned slightly and looked down at her clothes.

Finn's eyes were wide as he struggled to find the right words. "N-No, I just can't." He looked around the room, "I can't find the controller. Remote. Clicker-" He stammered, "I wanna watch TV."

Rachel gave him a look as she handed it to him. She sat down next to him quietly with a dejected expression and spoke in a low tone, saying something she's never said out loud before, "I know I'm not as pretty as Quinn or as hot as Santana."

"Would you stop?" Finn turned from his seat next to her on the couch and stared her straight into her eyes. "You're beautiful."

His mouth was still open a little as he was in shock. He couldn't believe that he told her that, but he also couldn't believe that she didn't realize how much she was worth. His eyebrows were loosely pinched in disbelief.

Rachel looked up from the ground and stared back. She searched his slightly squinted eyes and wondered if he truly meant what he said. No one's ever called her beautiful before, except her papa or Carole, and the way Finn just said it - with so much intensity in his voice and stare - it made it hard to not believe him, but she knew it was nothing but a friendly compliment. She lightly laughed and shoved him playfully.

"You're such a great friend, Finn." She smiled at him and turned the TV on, "You're my best friend."

He felt himself frown a little but replied back, "You're my best friend, too."

* * *

**A/N: **So I know I said that review was what I needed, but I think I like the happy reviews better hehe. Lemme know what you guys think! :)


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